Feds Insist On Jail Time For Ex-‘Ray Donovan’ EP Bryan Zuriff

Last week, lawyers for Bryan Zuriff filed a sentencing submission asking for lenience for their client for his involvement in an illegal gambling group — now the government has put in its two cents. Unlike Zuriff’s lawyers and famous friends like Judd Apatow who wrote letters of support, the feds said Monday that they want the former Ray Donovan EP to serve up to a year behind bars: the maximum for the charges. “In its November 18, 2013, Report to the Court, the Probation Department calculates a Guidelines range of six to twelve months’ imprisonment,” said the sentencing submission filed in federal court in NYC (read it here) yesterday. “The Government agrees with this Guidelines calculation, which is consistent with the calculation set forth in the plea agreement.” In making its point, the seven-page filing quotes from wiretaps that reveal how intrinsically Zuriff was involved in the group’s organization and activity. “Despite Zuriff’s intelligence, upbringing, and education, he was still not deterred from entering the illegal world of gambling. As such, a Guidelines sentence would serve to deter both the defendant and the public at large,” adds U.S. Attorney Prett Bharara in the submission.

The former Ray Donovan EP and current consultant to the hit Showtime Hollywood fixer show is set to be sentenced by Judge Jesse Furman on November 25.

Zuriff was among 34 people charged with running gambling operations that allegedly have laundered more than $100 million. An FBI investigation saw charges against Zuriff and others unsealed in late April by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. The defendants were called “alleged members and associates of Russian-American organized crime enterprises.” In a guilty-plea deal struck with the government on July 25, Zuriff forfeited $500,000 and agreed to terms that could land him in prison for up to a year — a haul he is seeking to avoid but the government appears intent on securing.